About Colette Robbins

“My paintings and drawings deal with remnants of the figure,” Colette Robbins once wrote. “Whether it’s a rolled up bundle of severed legs or strange helmet-like fossils that may or may not have once been alive, my images speak about what survives.” Some of her best-known works feature images of geological formations that resemble two-faced monoliths, which make reference to the Roman god Janus. To create her works, Robbins uses a technique inspired by the glaze painting of the Old Masters, in which she meticulously layers graphite washes; after the surface dries, she erases or sands the painting to add highlights and details.